Italy targets BYD, Tesla, VW and others over EV battery and driving range claims

Italy’s consumer protection and competition authority has launched investigations into four big-name electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers – BYD, Stellantis, Tesla, and Volkswagen – over what it says may be misleading claims relating to battery capacity, EV driving range, and more.

The L’Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), or the Italian Competition Authority, announced late last week that it was launching four investigations into the local subsidiaries of the big car makers and what it described as “suspected unfair commercial practices.”

The investigations will look into publicly available information regarding EV driving range, battery capacity degradation, and the limitations on standard battery warranties, all of which the AGCM claims potentially breach the country’s consumer code.

“In particular, the companies’ websites appear to have displayed generic – and at times contradictory – information regarding the driving range of their marketed electric vehicles, without clarifying which factors impact the advertised maximum range and the extent to which they affect the actual range,” the AGCM said.

“Moreover, it seems that the companies’ websites failed to provide consumers with clear and complete information on battery capacity degradation resulting from normal vehicle use, and on the terms/limitations applied to the standard battery warranty.”

As part of the launch of these investigations, the AGCM carried out inspections of each of the companies’ local facilities in partnership with Guardia di Finanza, the special antitrust unit of the Italian Financial Police.

In a statement to journalists, Stellantis confirmed that it had “fully cooperated” with the AGCM and had “provided the necessary answers, information, and documentation on the subject of the investigation.”

“Stellantis Europe S.p.A. is convinced that it has provided adequate, precise and exhaustive answers to the questions posed by the officials present in Turin and will continue to collaborate in order to investigate any further relevant aspect related to the subject of the investigation.

“Stellantis places the needs and satisfaction of its customers at the centre of all its activities and believes that the ongoing investigation will confirm this.”

As of writing, Stellantis is the only one of the four companies to provide public comment on the investigations.